


The Puppet

by angelbitch



Category: SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Betrayal, Character Death, Declarations Of Love, Evil Plans, Fake/Pretend Relationship, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm Bad At Tagging, Love Confessions, M/M, Mentioned Kim Jonghyun, Murder, One Shot, Puppets, Romance, Secrets, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-28 18:16:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10836717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelbitch/pseuds/angelbitch
Summary: Taemin is a puppet in Jongin's masterplan. After a long time, he cannot bring himself to lie to Minho anymore. His boyfriend has been treating him with nothing except pure love. He cannot help but fall in love with the man deeper than he ever has. On a special date, he decides to end Jongin's plan and to spill the truth to Minho. Little does he knows, the price of being a puppet is higher than he thought for he is not the puppet in the plan after all.





	1. Foreword

 

"I'm ending this stupid plan. I can't do it anymore."

"Good luck, then."

"What do you think about us?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know the game, Taemin."

"What game?"

"Your game."

"What did you do to me?"

"You're a good man."


	2. The Puppet

         For the very last time, Taemin gave a long scan over his reflection on the life-sized mirror with a helpless smile. His neat golden walnut hair was immaculately flipped sideways as to cover his brows, and his fit body was dressed in navy blue plaid shirt and charcoal black slim fit jeans. He made sure everything was perfect and grabbed his aviator sunglasses from the night stand. Right before he was about to fit them on his nose, he saw a familiar figure lingering at the door.

         “Are you sure? I mean -” The hoarse voice at the door sounded worried.

         “I’m doing this, Jongin.”

         “But-”

         “I’m ending this stupid plan. I can’t do it anymore,” Taemin cut sternly.

         “Good luck, then,” Jongin said, still unconvinced.

         “Yeah,” Taemin said before giving Jongin a quick hug and paving his way out of the room.

         “Bye, Taemin.”

         “See you.”

         Soft music could be heard playing from the car. The windows were rolled down halfway to allow the chilly night air passed through; the summer heat was really intense these few days in Seoul. The couple was lying down side by side on the hood, leaning against the windshield. Taemin gazed at the twinkling dots of stars in the dark sky, searching for recognizable patterns. He was so absorbed in seeking for any pattern in the sky that he forgot about his boyfriend at his side.

         “Taemin? You’re zoning out again. It’s been the third time,” Minho said and snapped his fingers.

         Taemin gave him a sweet smile and a slight shake of his head. Minho was skeptical with the response, but he internally shrugged it off. Slipping his hand into Taemin’s colder one, he then laced their fingers together and rubbed his palm over their fisted hands. He kissed the cold knuckles. It had become their habit since his hands were usually warmer than Taemin’s hands. When he saw Taemin licking his dry lips, he reached for the strawberry lip balm in his pocket and handed it to Taemin. He could not bear looking at that sight. Taemin’s habit of licking lips was too tempting for him.

         “What do you think about us?” Taemin asked after applying the lip balm.

         “What do you mean?” Minho asked back, his face showed confusion.

         Taemin took a deep breath. He looked pass Minho at the dark sky and softly chuckled. He passed the lip balm back to Minho.

         “Never mind. It’s nothing,” Taemin said, putting the topic off.

         Taemin turned his face to look upward, a tiny smile playing at the corner of his lips. He could see clearly that Minho did not like the sudden halt in the conversation. Nonetheless, Minho said nothing. He assumed his boyfriend might be uncomfortable if he pressed more about the topic. The way Taemin was playing with Minho’s fingers, looking downwards, he was certain of it. He knew Taemin that well.

         Taemin’s face was always flawless to him no matter how many times he looked at it. He could perfectly recount the times he had brushed his fingers and had placed sweet chaste kisses against Taemin’s soft skin. He raised his hand and cupped Taemin’s right cheek, and Taemin could not help but lean into the warm comforting touch. Minho felt a sharp aching tug in the deep part of his heart. _Let’s end this game now_ , he thought and leaned his face into Taemin.

         It all happened at once. One second they were silently holding hands and the next, they were kissing. Minho pressed his plump lips firmly against Taemin’s moistened ones, being cautious not to slip his tongue into the warm mouth despite how inviting it felt. Taemin was startled by the sudden urge against his lips as his head gently hit the windshield. He tried to grasp the odd things happening: Minho was kissing him on his lips. After all the slow baby steps they were taking for weeks, his boyfriend finally decided to take another one. He could feel butterflies flying around freely in his belly. He could feel himself squirming when Minho held his sides tightly.

         “You kissed me?” Taemin asked the obvious when they pulled away.

         He flushed and licked his lips in a daze. He flushed harder when the thought of Minho’s lips having been there just now. He’s licking his lips, Minho thought. Taemin smiled and turned to Minho, finally being able to look into Minho’s eyes. He was finally ready to spill everything now that he was sure of Minho’s feelings. A moment later, his smile faltered in confusion.

         Minho’s eyes were unamused. Dark. Different. They were empty of Minho.

         “You know the game, Taemin,” Minho asked, unwavering.

         “What game?” Taemin asked back and swallowed nervously.

         “Your game. You think I’m not aware of this game you’re playing? You think I don’t know about you and the infamous Jongin?”

         Taemin looked down, staying calm and composed. He swallowed again and looked up to meet with Minho’s eyes. He did not know how Minho know about the game… or plan… whatever Jongin called it. _Fuck yourself for not telling him earlier_ , Taemin thought with frustration. His heart beat fast against his chest and his hands slightly trembled with silent terror. He felt as if the man who just kissed him disappeared to nowhere.

         “You think I’ll fall for your trap? For God’s sake, people can tell from your faces.”

         “Minho,” Taemin began in his small frightened voice.

         “Because of bloody Lee Jongin, my brother died and my son is brain-dead right now. Do you have any idea about that?! Do you even really have feelings for me? Is this even real, Taemin?”

         Taemin swallowed again, dry and thick. He did not know how to respond. He simply wanted to help Jongin. That was his intention. This was not supposed to happen. His part was just to be a puppet in this plan. That was it. Taemin never thought he would actually fall for this guy. He never thought he would drive all the way from his university just to meet him, spend a good time with him during the weekends, laugh out loud at his silly jokes or prank, and actually feel safe and comfort around him. Minho was too good to be true for him. He found it hard to spill the truth at that moment. He was very confused and nervous, and he was not sure what to do. Seconds later, he decided to softly blurt out the only truth lying among all these deceptions:

         “Minho, I love you.”

         And it seemed like the man never heard it.

         “Since the first time we met, everything was planned, isn’t it? You’ve no idea how much I’ve learned about Jongin… and you when I found out about your plan. I doubt that this relationship- ” Minho sucked in a sharp breath, bracing himself from his next words and pointed his finger at both of them, “- is even real. You’re one fucked-up brother, aren’t you?”

         Taemin could hear his little heart breaking over the revelation. It felt as if his heart was smashed into pieces and melted in a hot fire. He clutched at his heart and felt a thick lump growing in his throat. Small tears were collecting in his eyes. He looked straight into Minho’s eyes, desperate for some connection.

         “No, Minho. I really love you. I do,” Taemin whispered, voice cracked and sounded very deeply heartbroken.

         Minho stilled a short moment later with his eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. He painfully gulped, and it felt as if he was swallowing dry rocks. His mouth immediately dried up and the surrounding suddenly felt chilly. Despite everything that happened and despite the deceptions that lay in their relationship since the beginning, he knew that Taemin was speaking the truth. It seemed funny that after everything that had happened, he still fell in love with the sweet cheerful man, or at least that was what he saw in Taemin before. Now, all he saw was a heartbroken man. Taemin looked at him through his watery eyes, straight and shaking. Minho closed his eyes and turned away. He could not look at the man right now. Had he known Taemin sincerely loved him, he would find another way.

         “It’s – ” Minho reached for the thin layer of rubber on his lips. “ – too late anyway. Fuck.”

         He pulled off the pair of thin poisoned rubber layers on his lips. The toxin by now, according to his prediction, should be in the bloodstream. Taemin quivered his lips in surprise. Maybe in a few more minutes, this would all end. The poison was already in Taemin, there was no more turning back for him.

         “What did you do to me?” Taemin rasped, his voice becoming hoarse and painful.

         “You’re a good man, Taemin,” Minho whispered, holding Taemin’s cold hands in his.

         “Minho, help.”

         “With everything happening, I still can’t help but fall in love with you. Why did you do it, Taemin? Why did you lie to me? Why did you trust your brother that much?” Minho whispered, his voice cracked and his eyes glistened with tears.

         “Minho, help. I c-can’t b-br-breathe.”

         “You shouldn’t trust Jongin. He’s an evil son of a bitch. I… I see his actual game now. Taemin, you… you were never the puppet in this plan. Oh my god.”

         Realization caught Taemin. He was silent before his pale lips curved into a smile. There was nothing he could do anymore. Jongin was really one evil son of a bitch. He had probably found out that Taemin had always known they never shared the same blood. He, too, saw the actual game now.

         “You’re the p-p-puppet-t. I’m t-the p-pawn.”

         Nonetheless, Taemin was glad that his love was not one-sided after all. His head felt very heavy and gradually, he lost his grips on Minho’s arms. He could feel his heart weakening and his heartbeats slowing down. Beads of cold sweats rolled down his temples. Black shadows hovered around his sight. He could barely breathe when he felt the muscles in his throats slowly contracting to a complete close.

         The poison was successfully wrecking his systems. He tried to grab at anything he could desperately. Minho caught his grasping hands and rubbed his palms over Taemin’s cold ones. Taemin looked at Minho with widened and anguished eyes, but Minho could only stare at him back with tears rolling down his cheeks and mouth clamped shut. _I’m sorry, Taemin_ , Minho thought as he looked into Taemin’s eyes.

         Taemin collapsed on the car hood, his body was very weak and helpless. He looked up at the stars as his systems slowly shut down one by one. He could not feel his body and limbs anymore. His eyes were getting heavier and droopier. He knew it was ending soon, so he did the only and the last thing he could.

         “I love you, Minho. Always,” Taemin mouthed to Minho weakly.

         Taemin attempted a smile before slipping away. _No, Taemin. Don’t_ , Minho thought as he wrapped his trembling arms around Taemin’s immobile body. He shook Taemin a few times with a small hope that he would wake up, or at least move, but the body was beginning to lose its warmth and becoming lifeless. Hot tears poured down his cheeks heavily and loud anguished sobs came out of his throat. He shook the body, again and again, silently hoping Taemin would wake up. He wished it was all a bad dream, just a nightmare.

         Minho cried and cried, knowing he placed his doubt more than his love towards Taemin. He trusted the wrong person and his action cost him his love. Embracing the cold body with his shaking arms on the car hood, he buried his face in Taemin’s hair and smelled the scent of his shampoo. Somehow, the scent, too, seemed to be fading away. He tightened his embrace around the body in desperation. When a message came in, he wobbly grabbed his phone and opened the new text.

  
_‘_ _Game over. You lost. -Lee J-'_

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I myself twisted my brain writing this. The backstory/explanation is in the next chapter. Be sure to check it out for clarification. ^^


	3. Backstory/Explanation

I hope I didn’t twist your brain with the story plot. Here are the backstory and explanation for the one-shot. Feel free to ask if you’re still confused. First of all, Minho is 26, Taemin is 24 and Jongin is 23 in this story.

Jongin didn’t mingle with good people. He killed Minho’s brother, and let’s say Minho’s son being brain-dead was a collateral damage. After that, Minho snooped around Jongin and his associates and found out the shitty things that they did such as murdering, bribing, drug-dealing, etc. So, Jongin told Taemin, his supposedly-brother, that he planned to kill Minho before the man exposed him and his people to the authorities.

In his told-plan, Jongin planned to use Taemin to get close to Minho and Taemin was fully aware of him being the ‘puppet’.Taemin thought of their intimate relationship as an honestly fake one. However, in time, Taemin grew to love Minho and at some point did not have the will to lie anymore. He felt very guilty towards Minho for not being honest. He could always be the witness to Minho’s brother’s murder case. As in the early part of the story, Taemin told Jongin that he wanted to stop the plan and tell Minho the truth.

For Minho’s side of the story, he was initially unaware of the plan (and the fake relationship). He really loved Taemin with all of his heart and planned to make Taemin his fiancee. However, when he found out that Taemin was connected to Jongin, he began to doubt whether Taemin really loved him. Over time, after snooping around (again), he learned that Jongin was the actual evil one and Taemin was simply tagging along as the ‘puppet’ of the plan. Nonetheless, he still doubted Taemin’s feelings toward him. When Taemin confessed that he really did love Minho at the brink of his death, that was when Minho realized that he had made a mistake for doubting his boyfriend.

‘Lee J’ from the text was short for ‘Lee Jongin’. Okay. Yes. Jongin was the evil SOB (son-of-a-bitch) behind this masterplan. All this time, Taemin thought he was being the puppet in the plan, but truthfully, he was the pawn (kinda like a tool/sacrifice for Jongin to achieve his goal). Minho was the actual puppet in this plan. How? When Taemin said that he was gonna spill the truth to Minho, Jongin saw that as a threat to his safety and flow of plan. He used Minho and tricked him into killing Taemin (let’s not talk into detail about that). Also, mind you that at this time, Jongin found out that Taemin was not his blood-brother and Taemin was very well-aware about it all this time, but never told him. That was why Jongin did not see killing Taemin, his supposedly-brother, as a problem. He felt kinda betrayed by Taemin for lying to him. So, we kinda can see that Minho is the actual puppet, and Taemin is just the pawn in this story.

What is Jongin’s actual goal in this plan? To be honest, I never actually think about this. However, I see a pattern in the people that Jongin killed/harmed: the brother, the son, and the lover. His last text also suggested that Jongin and Minho had been playing some kind of game for a long time. That could be possible too. Just so you know, I’m totally open to any epilog or sequel if many people would like that :)

Adios, _bitches_.

-mirrue-

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, angelbitch here. I've been writing 2MIN stories on Asianfanfics (AFF), and this is my first time writing here. I'd really appreciate any constructive criticism or feedback. I hope y'all will enjoy this piece. Let's sail the 2MIN ship in A03. Spread the love!
> 
> (I'm a sucker for Destiel too <3)


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